The best road trip stops on the Memphis to Austin drive are Little Rock, Hot Springs AR and Dallas. The distance from Memphis to Austin by car is 647 miles, with a 9h30m driving time.
Planning a Memphis to Austin road trip itinerary
The drive from Memphis to Austin connects two of America’s great music cities.
Five great things to do in Memphis
- 🎸 Enjoy a private luxury tour of Memphis – with Graceland tickets included.
- 🍖 Get a taste of Tennessee – on a Downtown Memphis food tour.
- 🛥️ Take a Memphis discovery tour – with Mississippi cruise and Sun Studio add-on options.
- 🏙️ Discover Memphis beyond Beale Street – on a historic walking tour.
- 🚗 Hop on a day tour to Tupelo – and see Elvis’ childhood home.
Memphis, Tennessee, is a pilgrimage site for Elvis fans. The King’s Graceland mansion is one of the top tourist sites in the US. But the cultural heritage extends beyond music, as you’ll discover on an African-American history tour.
Music fans should also try the Try the Rock and Soul Museum, plus the Memphis Music Hall of Fame and the Stax Museum of American Soul Music.
Ways of seeing the city include ghost walks, Downtown food tours and musical bus tours. There are also guided walks down music central, Beale Street, and city tours that take you inside the legendary Sun Studio.
Outdoors, Shelby Farms Park is one of America’s great urban parks and the Memphis Botanic Garden is expansive.
Austin is renowned for its live music scene, although it has plenty of more conventional attractions too. These include the LBJ Presidential Library, the Texas Science and Natural History Museum and the Bullock Texas State History Museum.
Top Austin experiences include ebike tours taking in the city highlights and haunted pub crawl walks.
You can also try highly-rated downtown food tours, half day wine shuttles in the Hill Country, brewery-hopping beer tours and sightseeing on a boat cruise.
For Austin hotel recommendations, try band crashpad chic meets rainbow bathrobes at the Hotel San Jose and the unashamed rock star swagger of the W.
5 great Austin experiences to book
- 🛶 Join a sunset kayaking tour – and see 1.5 million bats.
- 🍖 Get ready to feast with the country BBQ and wine country shuttle.
- 🌮 Take a best-of-Austin food tour – tasting great BBQ brisket and tacos on the way.
- 🍸 Discover Austin’s secret bars on speakeasies tour.
- 🏙️ Learn Austin’s fascinating history on a downtown walking tour.
Memphis to Austin distance and driving time
By car, the distance from Memphis to Austin is 647 miles. You can expect a driving time of around nine hours and 30 minutes. The quickest route is along the I-40, I-30 and I-35.
The best stops on a Memphis to Austin road trip itinerary are Little Rock, Hot Springs AR and Dallas.
Best stops between Memphis and Austin: Little Rock
Little Rock is the capital of Arkansas, and the closest thing the state has to a metropolis.
Key experiences in Little Rock include the Museum of Discovery and the William J Clinton Presidential Library and Museum. The latter, as with most presidential libraries, acts as a fascinating insight not just into the president, but the era he was in charge for.
Memphis to Austin road trip attractions: Hot Springs AR
Hot Springs in the Ouachita Mountains has loads to do. The natural highlight is Hot Springs National Park, which strings thermal springs together on a series of hiking trails. The historic bathhouses are also part of the national park.
There are also several amusement parks, of which Magic Springs is arguably the best as it has a water park.
Other Hot Springs experiences include zip line adventures.
Memphis to Austin drive: Things to do in Dallas
5 great Dallas experiences worth booking
- 🤠 Combine the JFK sites and Southfork Ranch on a half day tour.
- 🏛️ Take comprehensive JFK assassination tour – including the Sixth Floor Museum and Lee Harvey Oswald Rooming House.
- 🚴 Cover Downtown Dallas’ attractions and history on an e-bike tour.
- 🌆 See Dallas from above at the Reunion Tower GeO Deck.
- 🌮 Take a food tour with five tastings in the Deep Ellum area.
Dallas has plenty of high quality cultural attractions. These include the Nasher Scupture Center, George W Bush Presidential Museum and Perot Museum of Science and Nature.
But for many visitors, the main reason to visit Dallas is the JFK assassination. Yes, you can go up to the Book Depository where Lee Harvey Oswald supposedly took his shot from. It’s now the Sixth Floor Museum.
Top Dallas experiences include a JFK Assassination and Museum tour, the GeO-Deck at Reunion Tower and a self-guided scavenger hunt.
More Memphis and Austin road trips
- Gettting to Memphis: Guides to the Dallas to Memphis drive, Nashville to Memphis road trip, Little Rock to Memphis drive and Louisville to Memphis drive.
- Tennessee road trips from Memphis: What to expect on the Memphis to Chattanooga drive.
- Interstate road trips from Memphis: The best stops on the Memphis to Birmingham AL drive, Memphis to Hot Springs AR drive and Memphis to Oklahoma City drive.
- Best stops on the Dallas to Austin drive.
- Where to stop on the Austin to Albuquerque drive through west Texas and New Mexico.
